


The Most Wonderful Time of Year

by Leafling



Series: Discontinued [7]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: 1980s, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Christmas, Christmas Party, Established Relationship, Fluff, Gift Giving, Holidays, It's complicated; everything is complicated, Jailbait!Tony, Jealousy, M/M, Older Man/Younger Man, Underage - Freeform, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-15
Updated: 2014-05-15
Packaged: 2018-01-24 23:15:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,061
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1620446
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Leafling/pseuds/Leafling
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony and Steve go for a walk in the garden on Christmas. Yes, you guessed it: Christmas-themed fluff.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Most Wonderful Time of Year

**Author's Note:**

> So, first things first, I'm not dead; I've been buried under the demand of life.
> 
> I wrote this a week _before_ Christmas, but you would never think that 'cause it's May by time I'm posting it. I have, like, two more companion stories for this, but who knows when I'll get to posting those? Next year, maybe. 
> 
> Title comes from the incredibly popular song of the same name.

Another year, another Christmas party.

Tony and Steve stole away from the celebration during Howard's perfunctory, end of the year success-speech to his business partners. No one missed them; no one ever seems to notice that they're gone.

The backyard was devoid of guests and it was where Steve and Tony took refuge.

The garden had been done up like in a magazine. A sparkling white winter-wonderland with a gigantic evergreen as its centerpiece, fully decorated in the spirit of the season. It was just like Maria to go all out with the decorations; she always had to have the best of the best. Faerie lights gave the garden an enchanted glow, the luminescence refracting off the snow like something ethereal. The hedges were trimmed to look like a chain of Reindeer pulling a sleigh. The pathways lined with tall candy canes-themed lights. Snowmen littered the area, wearing smiles and bubble jackets.

Tony held Steve's hand, hanging off the super soldier's arm like Steve was a lifeline as they walked along the maze-like hedges that twisted and twined away from the house. Tony's fingers were cold, frozen even; Steve squeezed the teen's hands in his larger one, hoping to warm it up. The thought to chastise Tony about not wearing gloves came to mind, but was left unvoiced in favor of keeping their comfortable silence. It was rare that Tony shut up, even more so that they spent time together; this was the best of both.

Enjoying Tony's company as they trudged through the snow—preferring to stray from the path so that they could more closely observe the decor, and avoid any wayward groundskeepers that were lurking around—Steve mulled over the thought of what they must've looked like walking together as they were. They must have been quite the sight: _Captain America_ and Howard Stark's _**teenaged** -_son strolling through the garden like a couple in a Jane Austen novel.

Steve was sure that if anyone were to catch them then, there would be no doubt as to what the nature of their relationship was; the way Tony looked at him was evidence enough. The teen was like a love-starved puppy, the way he glanced at Steve when he thought the older man wasn't looking.

The blond laughed when he caught Tony glancing up at him. "Do I have something on my face?" Steve asked, clearly amused.

Tony clicked his tongue, "hey, that's _my_ line." His arms tightened around Steve's, body pressing closer to the blond's until Steve could feel the teen's warmth through his layers. "'sides, why're you so quiet? Am I boring now?" There was a hint of insecurity in his tone, hidden underneath his usual playfulness.

Brown eyes observed him through thick jet-black lashes, trying to gauge Steve's reaction before the blond even said anything. Steve's hand tightening around Tony's smaller ones, drawing the teen's attention away long enough for him to roll his eyes without scrutiny.

"Like **you** could ever be _boring_ ," Steve joked assuredly. "No, I'm just enjoying the quiet," He explained, using his free hand to brush Tony's fringe from his forehead to plant a kiss there.

Tony looked unconvinced, "enjoying the quiet? Geez, what are you, _an old lady_?...and what are you implying; that I talk too much?"

Steve bumped into Tony playfully.

They arrived at a nearby gazebo. Tony took his seat on the bench-styled swing, setting it into a gentle back-and-forth motion as he lounged across it. Steve sat beside him, throwing his arm over Tony's shoulder when the teen, predictably, moved to snuggle into his side. He was more affectionate than usual; perhaps, there had been something in the eggnog after all.

When Tony was completed settled, it was with his head rested on Steve's lap, and though the super soldier knew better than to let him lay on him like that, he didn't bother to nudge him off. Instead, Steve took the opportunity to rifle through the pocket of his coat. "Merry Christmas," Steve said after a moment, raising a tiny gift box into view. It was a simple little thing; pristinely white and wrapped with a green and red ribbon.

Tony stared at it like it was going to bite him—then like it was a complex piece of an impossible puzzle. Ultimately, he took it from Steve's hands, "what is it?" The teen asked, sitting up and regarding Steve suspiciously as he shook the box beside his ear. It rattled noisily; whatever was in the box was metal, that's for sure.

"Just open it," Steve ordered gently as he hid his smile. Looking up at the faerie lights that decorated the ceiling above them in an intricate spiral, the super soldier watched the myriad of colors alternate between being on and off, bathing them in bright, luminous colors and then in darkness. When he looked back down at Tony, the teen was unraveling the wrapping paper his gift came in.

The chain was so thin, it nearly slipped out of Tony's grasp when the teen finally freed it from its wrappings. A different kind of silence found them as Tony examined the necklace. Twining the silver robe around his finger, he observed the precious metal against his skin, the quality of the it, the pattern of the tiny chain-links—then his eyes fell onto the simple stone that hung from it. The gem was a pale, electric shade of blue and under the lights, it was a million colors at once.

It couldn't have been more than a hundred bucks, but Tony held it like it was worth a small fortune. Feeling the frigid metal burn against his skin, Tony turned to Steve. "I totally didn't get you anything..."

Steve laughed, taking the chain from Tony and nudging the teen to sit forward so he could put it on him. "You think I just met you yesterday? _Everyone_ knows that you're a selfish little brat."

Tony felt his neck break out in goosebumps as Steve exposed it to the air, and then to the silver chain of the necklace. He shuddered, "so, I've heard..." When Steve's hands fell away from him, Tony instinctively reached for the necklace. For something so small, it felt so heavy against him. Caressing the stone with care, Tony met Steve's eyes gratefully.

Tony doesn't say _thank you_ , but Steve doesn't bother with that anymore.

Pulling Tony into his arms, Steve mussed up the teen's hair affectionately. "Merry Christmas," he whispered.

"Yeah… to you too, Old Man," Tony said, shifting in Steve's hold and pressing a kiss to the corner of the blond's mouth—and then another on his cheek and on the other side of Steve's lips. The blond got the message, slotting their mouths together like two puzzle-pieces as he tightened his hold on the teen. The kiss was soft and slow, like they had all the time in the world.

By time they separated, it was noticeably colder in the garden. Tony shivered, not wanting to part from Steve even as the blond tried to shrug out of his coat to give to Tony. The teen's teeth chattered, his face vividly red like a ripened tomato. Eventually, Steve managed to get his coat over Tony's shoulders. Pulling it snugly around him, Steve gathered Tony's remarkably smaller body against his own.

Tony made a grateful sound as he nuzzled in close, "s'not fair..." he whined through tremors.

Steve looked apologetic, knowing that if not for the Serum he would be just as cold. "Let's get you inside," He thought aloud, and there was no argument from Tony. If anything, the teen seemed happy to go back in the house despite his earlier eagerness to escape it and the party.

Swiftly, Steve lifted the teen with the delicate motions reserved for a precious doll, holding him like one would a child half Tony's age. Loosely, Tony's legs wrapped around Steve's waist, letting his arms remain down by his sides to stay hidden underneath the thick coat hanging from his scrawny shoulders. Seeking warmth still, Tony rested his head on Steve's shoulder, his shivering having yet to subside.

As Steve carried him back to the house, the super soldier stopped in his tracks as the sky rumbled overhead ominously. Tony looked up at him expectantly; however, the wind blowing past kept him from complaining.

"Look," Steve finally said after a long moment of silence. Above them, snow danced in the swell of the breeze; the flawless flakes of ice twirled and undulated in the night sky, lost to the will of the wind as they made their descent to the earth below, coating the garden in a fresh layer of white.

Snow clung to their clothes and hair, melting uncomfortably where it found its way between them. Tony was still noticeably cold, but he stared up at the sky and let snowflakes collect on his cheeks.

When Steve snuck them back into the party, the celebration was nearly over. Maria rolled her eyes at Tony, seeing the wet spots left behind by melted snow left on his clothes, "next time you want to have a snowball fight, try wearing something that wasn't tailor made. _Please and thank you_ ," She said with a tense smile, brushing past them to escort some friends to the door.

Tony shrugged, holding Steve's coat closed around him even though the room was adequately heated. Steve chuckled.

As the house cleared out, Steve said his goodbyes. Maria kissed him on both his cheeks, telling Steve to swing by the house tomorrow before they went on their _"Stark-family trip"_ to the Hamptons.

Howard clapped him on the back, speaking too low for Tony to eavesdrop on. The teen decided he didn't like how closely Steve and his father stood, their shoulders brushing as Howard let his hand rest on Steve's shoulder, squeezing it affectionately as they joked quietly to each other. Tony would never admit aloud how much better he felt when the blond finally shook Howard's hand, opting not to hug him as per usual.

Howard walked Steve to the door, ignoring Tony as he moped jealously nearby.

"Enjoy your vacation, Howard," Steve laughed, letting the other man go ahead of him to open the door.

Just then, Tony felt his heart sink. For some unfathomable reason, he felt sad that Steve wasn't going to say goodbye to him. Right as he sank into his worst sulk yet, the blond turned to him so causally and hugged Tony, catching the teen completely off guard. "Make sure your dad doesn't work himself into an early grave for me, 'kay?" The blond joked, squeezing Tony heartily.

The teen was pleasantly surprised, startled into action as he returned the hug quickly before they separated. "Sure, whatever," he replied, almost missing the beat as he felt a flush creep up his neck.

Howard barely masked his scowl, "all he's going to do is sleep. Lazy little brat."

Steve shook his head cordially, letting Howard lead him out the door and the short distance up the driveway. Tony stood in the doorway, watching Steve and his father warily, clutching Steve's coat tightly around him until he realized he hadn't given it back.

Howard smiled softly at Steve, no doubt sneaking admiring glances at the blond as he mounted his motorcycle. As the bike came roaring to life, the scientist rested his hand on the handlebar, scant inches from Steve's own. To an innocent bystander, it seemed harmless enough; however, Tony could tell that his father's intentions were anything but.

"Go to bed, you need to be up early." Maria ordered, appearing at Tony's side suddenly to guide him away from the door. Gesturing to her husband, she barked to him as well, "Howard, let the poor man go home before the snow gets any worse!"

Howard scoffed, waving off his wife. They talk for a few more minutes before Steve, _ever diplomatic_ , assured Howard that there would be plenty of time to talk tomorrow— _and after the vacation, too, Steve wasn't going to disappear into thin air, y'know!_ —and then he was gone soon after.

In the morning, when Howard personally came to wake Tony—because the tireless amounts of maids had failed to do so before him—he absolutely **glowered** when he recognized the coat Tony was wrapped up in was Steve's.


End file.
